Man convicted in 1970 Ariz. hotel fire that killed 29 expected to be released from prison

ap ^ | March 31, 2013

[BenLurkin]

A man who has spent more than four decades in prison for a Tucson hotel fire that killed 29 people, including some who jumped from windows to escape the searing heat, is expected to be released Tuesday as part of a deal with prosecutors.

Louis Cuen Taylor of Tucson was convicted of murder as a teen but has maintained his innocence in the December 1970 fire at the Pioneer Hotel.

The fire came during a Christmas party for employees of an aircraft company and left many guests trapped in their rooms.

The building had no sprinkler system, exits were locked to prevent theft, and fire truck ladders were too short to reach the higher floors. Those factors led some people to jump from windows to their deaths. Others burned to death in their rooms. Most died of carbon-monoxide poisoning while waiting for rescue.

In total, 29 lives were lost to the blaze, including one victim who died months later in a hospital

[Michael.SF.]

Judge Charles L. Hardy, who presided over Taylor's 1972 trial, publicly expressed skepticism about the jury's decision to convict.... (Hardy) was negotiating with Arizona lawmakers to have the sentence commuted

Very telling comment from the article.

[Sgt_Schultze]

On 60 minutes right now.

[BerryDingle]

exits were locked to prevent theft

Kind of a head scratcher there, exit doors are usually one way. Someone going to run outside to steal?

[BenLurkin]

Police Charge Hotel Fire Deaths to 16-Year-Old Boy

AT LEASE 28 DIED.

By BILL ROBERTS
Associated Press Writer

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Juvenile Court petitions alleging felony homicide and arson were filed today against a 16-year-old youth in a $2.5 million fire which killed 28 persons and injured 27 in a downtown hotel Sunday.

The youth was taken into custody near the scene of the early morning blaze, and questioned by police.

The petition identified him as Louis C. Taylor, four-time parolee from the State Industrial School for Boys.

Patrolman Claus Burgman said he arrested Taylor because he “was acting suspiciously and couldn’t explain his presence in the building.” Later, Burgman said Taylor “told us a number of different stories about the fire. He said he was at the scene and saw the fire start, but claims he saw another boy do it.”

Several survivors of the flames which raced through the upper half of the 12-story Pioneer International Hotel said they had smelled a volatile substance in the corridors.

The fire in the 41-year-old building broke out on the sixth floor and flared through hallways and staircases, penning about 60 persons in their rooms with no way out except through the windows.

One woman plunged to her death from the seventh floor.

http://www3.gendisasters.com/arizona/4828/tucson-az-pioneer-international-hotel-fire-dec-1970

[Born to Conserve]

Whenever the MSM works this hard to not say what the actual evidence is, it means the evidence was good.

[Squawk 8888]

Probably done so that people leaving had to walk past the front desk, thus deterring them from removing large items.

[M-cubed]

On 60 minutes right now. <<

LMAO....but luckily..I hold the only clear title to the Brooklyn Bridge...

Now listen up!....Is it on 60 minutes?..pay me now for the bridge and i wont be hocking it next Sunday on that show..Talk about a good deal....But u gotta do it now !!!*S*

[srmorton]

According to 60 Minutes, the cause of the fire is now considered to be undetermined. The fireman who said that the fire was arson gave a new deposition recently in which he said that, from his walk-through shortly after the fire, he could determine that "the person who set the fire was 18 and black". He made some other very racist statements in the deposition, all of which destroy the credibility of the key witness in the case. The evidence was extremely weak and is now tainted by the new testimony of this witness. Louis Taylor, who as a teenager was questioned without a lawyer or his parents present, has spent most of his life in prison for a crime he obviously did not commit.

[fidelis]

"Kind of a head scratcher there, exit doors are usually one way. Someone going to run outside to steal?"

To prevent "grab and go's"-- People using emergency exits to run out with stolen goods. Happens a lot (chained or blocked exits) at supermarkets where people like to make "beer runs". One (legal) solution in many places is to put a 15 second opening delay on the door. Somebody pushes it and it doesn't open right away, but an alarm sounds and then it opens in 15 seconds. That way store staff gets notified that a beer run's being attempted, but if the place is on fire, 15 seconds delay probably isn't going to kill anyone.

[BerryDingle]

True. In this case I was thinking there is a few flights of stairs to go down just to get to the ground floor, besides the elevator, if it was working.

[Graybeard58]

This murderer served 40 plus years for killing 29 people while in Ecuador a mass murderer served 14 years, raping and murdering what he says were over 200 little girls. 8 to 12 year olds.

He claims over 200 and there’s not much reason to doubt him because Ecuador doesn’t really care that much about missing children of the lower class.

The rapist/murderer showed authorities 57 graves and simply couldn’t remember where the others were.

14 year sentence because that was the max in Ecuador at that time and according to law sentences are to be served concurrently.

Maximum has since been changed to 25 years, still no consecutive sentencing.

[BenLurkin]

60 Minutes is not telling the whole story.

Again.